Ballad of Big Nothing

From our friends at Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

Main Entry: ¹ex·tra 

Pronunciation: \ˈek-strə\

Function: adjective

Etymology: probably short for extraordinary

Date: 1757

1 a : more than is due, usual, or necessary : additional <extra work> b : subject to an additional charge <dessert is extra>
2 : superior <extra quality>

Main Entry: ²ordinary

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English ordinarie, from Latin ordinarius, from ordin-, ordo order

Date: 15th century

1 : of a kind to be expected in the normal order of events : routine, usual <an ordinary day>
2 : having or constituting immediate or original jurisdiction; also : belonging to such jurisdiction
3 a : of common quality, rank, or ability <an ordinary teenager> b : deficient in quality : poor, inferior <ordinary wine>

synonyms see common

Looking over these definitions carefully, it seems to me that the combination of the two might be defined by our dutiful Blogger, Sara Elise Seinberg, as

Additionally common or incredibly routine. 

Snoresville.

Painfully boring.

Utterly usual.

Instead, as you read above, extraordinary is most probably where the very word extra came from. Meaning 

AMAZING! 

MADCAP! 

REALLY KIND OF A BIG DEAL!

WHOA!

Everyday I am struck by how the very things I stroll by, say, ingest, hum, or listen to thoughtlessly, invariably end up being entire planets of fascination. Whether it be from the world of musculature, ink, topography, history, clothing, or melody, I find myself musing constantly on how the magic of the everyday somehow relegates itself to such a seamless existence, it becomes invisible. 

I'm throwing flour on the invisible man here, raising a glass of cool water to the fog drenched sky in order to ask, what the hell is the deal with the microclimates of San Francisco, anyhow? How did it slip the pages of history to not let us know that Freud's daughter lived her whole life with another woman, was buried with her? How does automatic transmission work and why? Does LSD create images in the brain, or does it lift a veil to reveal images already present? Why is Jessica Alba a working actress?

A stroll through the questions that perk up my days and the answers that keep me fascinated through the evenings. 

Won't you go for a walk along with me? We don't even have to talk at all, we can just look around side by side. It'll be great. I swear.

Love,

Sara Elise